Topic: Michael Brantley

Michael Charles Brantley, Jr. (born May 15, 1987 in Bellevue, Washington) is a Major League Baseball outfielder who plays for the Cleveland Indians. He is the son of former MLB player and coach Mickey Brantley.

Grew up in Port St. Lucie, Florida and attended school at Ft. Pierce Central High School as a star athlete.

He was drafted by Milwaukee in the seventh round of the 2005 amateur entry draft. In 2005 he played for their Rookie league Helena Brewers and Arizona Brewers. He was promoted to the Class A West Virginia Power in 2006. In 2007, Brantley split his time between West Virginia and the Double-A Huntsville. In 2008, he was involved in a trade that sent him and Matt LaPorta to the Cleveland Indians for C.C. Sabathia. Near the end of the 2009 season, he was called up to the Indians to replace the injured Grady Sizemore in center field. In his time there, he hit .313 with 11 RBIs. On July 4, 2010, he was called up to the majors again to fill in for the injured Shin-Soo Choo. Thus far in 2011, Brantley is having his best year, serving in left field and center field, and helping the Indians to a surprising start.